Beyond Measurement: Board-based Assessment As A Mechanism Of Social Engineering In Education

Abstract

Board-based Assessment Is Generally Regarded As A Mechanism For Measuring Academic Achievement, Maintaining Educational Standards And Ensuring Institutional Accountability. However, Its Influence Extends Beyond The Measurement Of Learning. Because Board Examinations Establish Performance Expectations And Attach Significant Consequences To Academic Outcomes, They Can Shape The Behaviour, Priorities And Practices Of Students, Teachers, Schools And Families. The Present Study Examines Board-based Assessment Through The Lens Of Social Engineering In Education, Defined As The Systematic Or Indirect Shaping Of Individual And Collective Behaviours, Expectations, Priorities And Practices Through Institutional Structures, Norms, Incentives And Accountability Mechanisms. A Descriptive, Exploratory And Mixed-methods Approach Was Adopted, Drawing Upon Survey Responses From Students And Academic And Administrative Stakeholders. Three Likert-scale Instruments Were Examined For Internal Consistency. Reliability Analysis Demonstrated Good To Very High Internal Consistency, With Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficients Of 0.9505 For The Academic And Administrative Survey, 0.9067 For The Analytical Opinion Survey, And 0.8476 For The Student Perception Survey. The Social Engineering And Nation Building Dimension Of The First Instrument Demonstrated Particularly High Preliminary Internal Consistency (α = 0.9410). The Findings Indicate That Board Examinations Are Associated With Constructive Behavioural Outcomes Such As Motivation, Responsibility, Self-regulation, Goal Setting And Accountability, While Simultaneously Being Associated With Stress, Competition And Examination-oriented Practices. The Study Argues That These Apparently Contrasting Outcomes Illustrate The Dual Nature Of Assessment As A Mechanism Of Behavioural Regulation. The Paper Concludes That Board-based Assessment May Function As An Indirect Mechanism Of Social Engineering, Not Necessarily Through Deliberate Manipulation, But Through The Expectations, Incentives And Institutional Practices Generated Around High-stakes Assessment.

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